by: 
dandaman6007
dandaman6007Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 10:39:00 PM EDT
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9:59 p.m EST: A federal judge in Southern California on Thursday declared the U.S. military's ban on openly gay service members unconstitutional because it violates the First Amendment rights of gay and lesbians. (AP) The U.S. House voted in May to repeal the policy, and the Senate is expected to address the issue this upcoming summer. But that is not soon enough.
(credit: AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
It’s not soon enough for the 13,500 service members who were fired since 1994 for being gay.
And it’s not soon enough for Sara Isaacson, whose ROTC scholarship was dropped after she came out as a lesbian last May. Sara attended the University of North Carolina here in my hometown of Chapel Hill, and she now owes nearly $80,000 to the U.S. Army for repayment of a scholarship for seven semesters as an out-of-state student.
The United States government gave Sara the following choice: lie to yourself and others about who you are, or $80,000 out of your own pocket for college. This is absolutely outrageous, that in the United States we still accept this type of discrimination against our LGBTQ friends. Her advice to other LGBTQ service members:
I spoke with a lot of people in various situations—people who had been discharged because of "don't ask, don't tell" and people who were lesbian and currently serving. I got so many resources and I decided that for me the best decision was to come out because I didn't think I would be OK living with myself while compromising my integrity.No one should have to sacrifice his or her integrity to defend this nation.
If DADT was repealed, Sara said she would go back into military service.
Tonight’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips brings us one step closer to repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Do your part and call your Senator and ask them you support a repeal of this discriminatory policy.
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California judges are really on a roll this summer!
# Posted By Mahayana
| 9/12/10 12:37 AM
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